The Locket
by silverivy13
Summary: When he was a child, Keith's mother gave him a special locket right before she passed away. He promised her two things: to take care of his halfsiblings and to give one half of the locket to the person he falls in love with. Or: A klance cinderella fic
1. Chapter 1

Every one of you has heard the story of Cinderella, I'm sure: a beautiful young woman treated poorly by her evil stepmother and stepsisters is swept off her feet by a handsome prince at a ball she was never supposed to go to in the first place and falls in love and they get married like a week after they met. Think about how unrealistic that sounds, and you tell me that Disney didn't romanticize things for the younger generation.

First of all, to quote a movie that's a favorite of my younger halfbrother's, "you can't marry someone you just met," but apparently that doesn't apply to the Disney of the 50s. There's not even a chance to get to know someone, let alone realize you'd want to spend your life with them. I'd bet that Cinderella and Prince Charming divorced just a few months after the wedding.

And second, fairy godmothers don't exist. Magic is completely fake and unrealistic and if you want something done, you have to do it yourself. You can't rely on magic fairies to fly around willy nilly and do your own work for you so you can go slack off at a ball. Really Cinderella, you can tell you were an only child, that's for sure.

And even if all that happened, why would a prince travel around the country with a shoe trying to find one specific girl? And if he went to all the houses in the land, surely there was someone else who had the same shoe size as Cinderella. How small are her feet anyways, a size 4 in children's? It seems like so much work and such a flawed way of doing things.

So in my opinion, Cinderella is a completely fake story that has no grounds in reality, and if Cinderella tried to tell anyone about her fairy godmother and the mice that turned into horses and a pumpkin carriage, then she'd be locked up in a loony bin and could kiss her handsome prince goodbye faster than a starving cheetah chasing an injured gazelle.

But I digress. After all, this isn't her story. It's mine.

…

A long time ago in a land far away, there lived a completely average boy in a not-so-average household. He was a lord's eldest son (by law, not blood), and as a result, he had a lot on his shoulders, including taking care of his halfsiblings and raising them, all while cooking, cleaning, studying, all that good stuff. It didn't help that his mother was dead either.

Keith had been 10 when his mother passed away and he was devastated. His mother had been everything to him; she was the glue that held the family together. On her deathbed, Keith promised to protect his younger halfsiblings when she had begged him to do so, even though he had been so excited to get to leave the house the second he turned 18. The grieving family soon began a downward spiral as the stepfather of the household become cold and distant to his children, choosing to pass all his responsibilities as a stepfather to his oldest stepson and instead focus on his work and wealth.

Keith quickly realized that his stepfather was not someone he could go against, and that if he tried, he was met with stern opposition and cruel intentions. The last time he defied him, his stepfather had almost taken it out on the youngest child of the family instead. Keith had immediately backed down after that. It was clear to him that his stepfather was suffering from some kind of abusive habits, but seeing as he was only 12 at the time, he also knew he could do nothing to stop him. So, with plans to move out and raise his siblings himself as soon as he reached adulthood and found a job, Keith began to take over the duties of a mother as well as the traditional behaviors of the eldest son in a lord's household.

It was on one of those extra duties that he met _him_.

The only thing Keith knew about him for sure was that he wanted to be called Blue. Even after they had been meeting for months, he still didn't know if that was his real name or not. He was an enigma, a mystery, and as Keith met him more and more, he found himself being drawn to him inexplicably.

He had left the house one day on a trip to the market. They were out of eggs and milk and the chickens had failed to lay any overnight, so Keith had his halfsiblings watching the house while he made a quick trip there. As he strolled through the little village down the road from his manor, he was enjoying the hustle and bustle of the early morning- only for it to be rudely interrupted by yelling coming from a stall near the end of the market.

"I said you need to pay for that!" A big, burly man was shouting, his thick hand clenched tightly around the tanned arm of a lanky boy trying desperately to free himself.

"And I said I don't have any money, so let go!" he yelled back. "Just take an IOU or something!"

"That's not business works, kid," the man growled. "You either pay up or you work it off doing something else."

Keith wasn't sure why he had chosen to help the strange boy, maybe because he found his situation amusing or maybe because he didn't like how the larger man was talking, but either way, he had stepped in, calmly paid for the stolen apples, and grabbed the boy, leading him away from the scene of the crime.

"Thanks!" the boy had said when they were far enough away. "You saved me!" Keith turned to look at him and was surprised by how attractive he was. His tanned skin gleamed in the orange sunlight of the morning, reflecting in two shining blue orbs of light. A wide toothy grin spread across his face to reveal perfect, pearly white teeth and his dark brown hair seemed to frame his face perfectly. It took a moment for Keith to reply.

"I realize that. Why were you even in that situation in the first place?"

"Well I was hungry and the apples were right there and I thought I could just take one. He shouldn't have them all sitting out like that if you can't take them."

"You can take them, but you need to pay him first. Is this your first time in a market?" Keith asked curiously.

"Yeah, kind of," the boy had answered. "I live in the palace so-"

"The palace?!" Keith echoed in shock. "That's amazing! I'd love to go there just once, if only to see the knights practice their swordplay. I'd love to participate in that, even if it's just once. What do you do there?"

"I'm… uh… I'm something like a civil servant?" the boy said it more like a question and Keith cocked his head in confusion.

"What does that mean? Like a butler, or a servant?"

"Yeah. Something like that," the boy replied. He smiled again and stuck out his hand. "I'm… Blue. Call me Blue." Keith hesitated for a moment before taking the outstretched hand and shaking it.

"Well I'm Keith," he replied. "It's nice to meet you, Blue."

After that, Keith found himself going into town more and more. He told himself that it was because he had more errands to run, but he knew deep down that he was just getting lucky enough to have a reason behind his almost-daily visits to the village. His stepfather seemed to not take notice of his absence, something Keith was incredibly thankful for, but his halfsiblings were a different matter.

"You're looking awfully happy today," Pidge said, leaning in the doorway of the kitchen and smirking as Keith froze. His efforts to quietly leave had, apparently, failed.

"I look the same as normal," he answered. Pidge rolled her eyes and turned away, waving behind her as she left the room.

"Whatever you say," she told him. "I'll get Hunk up."

"Thanks," Keith said quietly before darting through the door and starting down the dirt path leading to the village at the edge of the forest. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he failed to register the footsteps of someone else behind him.

"Where are you going to so early?" A voice from behind him asked as Keith jumped in surprise. He spun around to see a pretty teenage girl standing behind him, a curious look on her face.

"Allura," he breathed. "Don't scare me like that!"

She giggled at him. "It wasn't like I was being quiet or anything; you were just thinking harder than usual. What about?"

"N-Nothing," Keith answered, desperately trying to brush the question off. "Just trying to remember what I need to buy today."

"But you just went to the market yesterday," Allura mused, clearly up to something due to her sly grin. " _I_ think you're going to town to meet someone."

Keith opened his mouth to answer but shut it quickly, turning his head away as he felt his face flush red from embarrassment. Allura's eyes widened as she saw this and a wide grin spread across her face.

"Oh my _God_ , you're in _love_!" She crowed in delight. Keith snapped his head around to glare at her.

"I am not!" He denied in irritation. "He's just a friend!"

"And it's with another _man_?! Oh no," she said. "I don't think your dad will take that too well."

"He won't have to take anything because it's not true," Keith said, quickening his pace. "Don't you have embroidery lessons to take or something?"

"Keith, you wound me. _Obviously_ they're fencing lessons."

"Yeah, yeah, just go do that and don't butt into my love life," he broke off as he realized what he said and heard laughter behind him.

"So you admit it!"

"I admit _nothing_!"

And Keith was being honest at the time. It wasn't for another 3 weeks, until he learned that Blue was leaving to go back to the palace, that he realized he really did like the other boy.

Keith left the house later than normal that day. Hunk had woken up earlier than normal and Keith hadn't been able to find a good time to leave until Pidge finally returned from the market, arms full of bags of what seemed like junk. Keith was sure she was planning on tinkering again all afternoon and was fully prepared for her to shut herself up in her room like she preferred to do on those days. However, one look at her halfbrother and she told him to just go already, promising to watch Hunk for him. Keith had raced out of the house, running as fast as his legs could carry him, knowing that the time Blue told him that the carriage was leaving was already long past. He had almost forgotten to wear the twin necklaces his mother had given him: a heart-shaped lock and key that she made him promise to give one to the person he falls in love with. This was important because Keith was still trying to decide whether or not he wanted to give Blue the heart-shaped lock.

When he finally made it to town, expecting to have already missed his chance to say goodbye, he was surprised to see that waiting there at the edge of the village was the carriage with Blue standing outside it, head spinning around frantically as if he was looking for something. When his eyes met Keith's, they lit up and he raced over to him.

"You finally made it!" He cried happily as he flung his arms around Keith. "And just in time too, I couldn't keep them waiting for much longer."

"Why didn't you leave yet?" Keith couldn't stop himself from asking. "It's way past when we said we'd meet up." Blue cocked his head for a minute and thought to himself. After a minute, he shrugged helplessly.

"I just knew you were coming, that's all."

"And how exactly could you know that?"

"I just did," Blue answered. A man's voice drifted over to them and Blue looked over his shoulder, waving in the direction it came. "Looks like I have to go…"

"Looks like it…" Keith let his voice trail off. He couldn't find anything to say, and it seemed like Blue couldn't either (which was really weird for him) and the two stood there in awkward silence for what felt like years.

"Um, Keith, I…" Blue's voice sliced through the air like a knife through butter. A strange expression crossed his face, like he wanted to say something, but as soon as it came, it vanished, replaced with a wide smile. Blue stepped forward, arms outstretched before freezing in his tracks. "Almost forgot you don't like hugs," he said, laughing and extending a hand instead. Keith stared at it for a minute before grabbing it and yanking forward, pulling Blue into him and wrapping his arms around the teen. He could feel Blue's surprise at first before the boy returned it. Keith was surprised at how nice this felt and wished he had more time. Unfortunately, it was time for Blue to go and all too soon the embrace ended, leaving Keith feeling oddly cold.

"Don't forget me at the palace, okay?" Keith said, forcing himself to smile.

"I'll never forget you as long I live," Blue answered immediately. "Not for a million years."

"People don't live that long, idiot."

"You never know, maybe I'll be the first," Blue replied, smiling. When he spoke again, his voice were quieter and more serious. "I'm really glad I met you, Keith. One day I'll come back, so wait for me, alright?"

"If you want me to, then I will," Keith answered, unsure what the tanned teen meant but accepting nonetheless.

"Good," Blue said. "So… I'll see you later then."

"Yeah." Keith couldn't bring himself to say anymore. He gripped the necklace tightly in his hand, suppressing his feelings down inside him as he watched Blue turn around and walk away. He watched as the boy helped throw the remaining suitcases onto the back of the carriage before walking around and stepping inside it. And he watched as the coachman snapped the reins and the horses began to trot away, pulling the carriage, Blue, and the memories of that summer behind it.

…

As Keith walked up the last few steps to the front door, a chill went down his spine as angry voices drifted over to his ears. He threw open the door and rushed in, hurrying to where the noise was coming room. When he entered the living room, the first thing he saw was his stepfather, fists raised and face red, screaming at his two halfsiblings, who were hunched on the floor, Hunk looking like he was about to cry and Pidge glaring up at her father defiantly. Keith frowned. As much as he wished he was anywhere but here right now, he had a duty to do.

"Father, stop screaming like that! You're scaring them!" Keith said, trying to keep his voice from quivering as he walked over to his siblings, stepping in front of them as if he was a human shield to divert the man's rage away from the two of them. His stepfather looked at him, glowering with a stare full of rage and disdain.

"Where have you been." It wasn't a question, and Keith swallowed, realizing that no matter what he said, it was going to be the wrong answer.

"I was-"

"Stop right there," his stepfather interrupted him. "I don't care where you were. You weren't _here_ and that is the issue. These _brats_ ," he pointed at Keith's halfsiblings sharply, who both looked away guiltily. "Got into my study and destroyed some very important documents."

"I'm sure it was an accident, so-"

"An accident that wouldn't have happened had you been _here_ , doing your _job_. God, why can't you ever do anything right?!" He snapped angrily. Keith swallowed thickly before responding.

"I'm sorry dad, I just-"

" _FATHER,_ " the man hissed at him. Keith quickly nodded his head, trying to soothe the situation in any way he could as he suppressed the sickening feeling in his gut. God, he hated this man with every fiber of his being but unfortunately there was no way of escaping him until Keith was of age.

"Father," he corrected himself. "I had something important to do in town and Pidge promised to stay and watch things here, so I assumed everything would be okay. I wasn't thinking-"

"That's your problem, Keith, you never _think_ ," his stepfather cut him off before he could continue. "You just do whatever you please while I slave away trying to feed you stupid brats! You have one job in this household, and that's to watch over your siblings, and yet you can't even do that! What would your mother think if she saw how useless you've become! It's clear to me that I've given you far too much freedom. From now on, you're to stay home. No more leaving the house."

"But-" Keith's broke off as he stumbled back, his right cheek stinging in pain.

"I SAID NO!" His stepfather barked, still holding his hand high, ready to swing again.

"...alright," Keith hissed through gritted teeth, desperately restraining himself from retaliating.

"Good. Now go get lunch ready. I'm hungry and you know how I hate to be kept waiting." With that, his stepfather turned around and stalked out of the room, leaving Keith staring at his retreating back, a mix of emotions on his face. For a second, he felt like he was going to practically rip apart from anger, but then the sound of feet met his ears as his halfsiblings hurried over to him and he steeled himself before turning to look at them.

"Keith!" A worried voice cried as his younger halfbrother rested a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Hunk standing over him, sympathy plain on his face. Keith hated that look. "Are you alright? You didn't have to cover for us like that."

"It's fine, Hunk," Keith answered, suddenly feeling really tired. "It's not like things would've been any different if I hadn't. You know how that bastard hates me."

"Sorry, Keith," Pidge said as Keith turned to face her. "Guess I got too absorbed in my tinkering."

"Well next time don't say that you'll watch the house if you never intended to do so in the first place!" Keith snapped. His eyes widened when he realized what he had said and he sighed heavily. "Forget it. I'm just tired."

"Well no shit," Pidge replied, her light tone implying that she hadn't taken his angry snapping seriously. "You never sleep enough, Keith."

"It can't be helped," Keith said. "There's a lot to do and as stepfather said, he's our support. As much as it sucks, we're dependents."

"Well if that's the case, then dad sure doesn't act like it. It's more like _he's_ dependent on _you_ ," Pidge muttered. "And then he treats you like trash. And you just put up with it! You need to grow a spine and tell him off Keith, things can't continue like this!"

"It's fine, Pidge," Keith said firmly. "I don't do all this for him, I do it for mom. It's what she wanted me to do. And besides, I'm the oldest out of the three of us. I may not acknowledge that dick as my father, but you guys are still my siblings, and I want you to be happy. If that means putting up with stepfather's abuse, then I can deal with that. Besides, it's not going to be forever. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get started on lunch."

With that, he stood and walked to the kitchen, leaving his halfsiblings staring worriedly behind him.

…

"A ball?" Keith echoed in shock, in perfect unison with Pidge. A few weeks had passed since Keith had been forbidden from leaving the house when a letter had arrived in the mail addressed to their stepfather. He had opened it that day at lunch and announced the contents, as if he already knew what it was going to say.

"For the Prince?" Pidge said in confusion. "What does that have to do with me?"

"As the eldest daughter of this household, this is the perfect chance for you to marry into royalty and elevate our whole family, Pidge," their stepfather said sternly. "You are going to that ball and you will make that Prince yours."

"But isn't he kinda… weird?" Pidge replied.

"Weird or not, he's a Prince. Who cares if he likes both genders, you still have a chance," their father said, obviously not liking the prince's inclinations. However, his greed for money won out.

 _For the Prince…_ Keith thought. _How interesting. If I'm correct, he's the same age as me. I'm surprised he's taking a bride when he's so young; I'd never want to marry at 17._

"I don't want to go!" Pidge cried suddenly, interrupting Keith from his thoughts. "I don't want to marry some stupid guy, all I need are my inventions! And besides, if I _was_ going to marry someone I'd do it because I love them, not because they're a Prince!"

"You'll have all the time to tinker with your stupid little toys in the palace," their stepfather said angrily. "You're going, and that's final!"

"No!" Pidge yelled again. The middle aged man frowned, lunging for his daughter with his palm outstretched. At the last second, Keith darted in front of his halfsister, taking the blow for her as his head swung to the side. Luckily he was able to keep his balance as he glared angrily at his stepfather. Hitting him was one thing, but his own child? What kind of man _was_ he and how the hell did his mother fall for him?

"Keith!" Pidge cried, glancing at him worriedly before turning her fierce gaze on her dad. "What kind of parent are you?! How can a stepfather hit their own child?!"

"He's no son of mine," her father replied, his voice icy. "Now you'll go, or suffer the consequences."

"She said she doesn't want to go," Keith said quietly looking at the man defiantly. "You can't force her to."

"It's fine!" Pidge said quickly before the situation could get any worse. "I'll go, okay?

"Pidge-"

"No, really, it's fine, Keith," she said, forcing herself to smile. "It's just a stupid ball, I'm sure I can handle it. And besides, maybe I'll find some things I can pilfer and work with." Keith considered arguing more, but seeing as his halfsister was as stubborn as a mule, he knew he wouldn't get anywhere.

"You will wear your mother's old ballgown," their stepfather declared. "It may not be in the best shape, but I'm sure that your halfbrother will be able to fix it right up, isn't that right Keith." It wasn't a question, so Keith just nodded his head yes in agreement, even though he wasn't very good at sewing. He resolved to take it to Allura in secret. "The ball is in two weeks so in order to prepare, you will take a break from your tinkering so your hands return to being soft and feminine and instead focus on your embroidery, curtsying, and manners. I can't have an idiotic daughter ruining my reputation in the royal court. Your brother will teach you, he's certainly subservient enough for it."

"Fine," Pidge growled out, barely managing to keep her rage under wraps. Keith, however, just sat there motionless. It wasn't like he could really say anything that would change his stepfather's opinion of him at this point. It didn't really matter what the man thought of him anyway, it wasn't like Keith needed his approval. But it still stung to be called subservient- not that he would ever give his stepfather the satisfaction of knowing he got under his skin.

At one point, Keith had worked up enough courage to ask his stepfather if he could go to the ball as well. He had never been to one before and was just the tiniest bit curious. Of course, one look from his stepfather told him the answer before any words were said. Keith had always known his stepfather viewed him as a disappointment, but this really solidified it: if he went as well, he would surely embarrass the family.

In the past, that would've irked Keith quite a bit, but he barely had the attention to care about an answer he already knew was coming. For the past few weeks, his mind had been somewhere else entirely, still with Blue and the village. Still trying to savor the memories of freedom that remained before they disappeared for good.


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks passed in a blur, with Keith's schedule only being busier now that he had to teach his halfsister how to act, or at least _pretend_ , to be a perfect lady. A part of him found her lack of motivation impressive, almost enviable, but that was mostly overwhelmed with the irritation that she was being difficult when he was just trying to do what he was told. As he helped Pidge into her gown, he couldn't suppress the brief sense of satisfaction he felt in doing so. It had been a difficult task, but Keith was very pleased with how the dress had turned out (all thanks to Allura).

The gown was a deep emerald green, covering the bodice and tapering into wide straps going over her shoulders. The skirt tapered away to reveal a shimmering white layer of chiffon and silk underneath, made of the same material he had given Allura to recreate the sleeves: they were bunched together in that typical poofy arm fashion, but continued down from that point, tapering away in layers of white ruffles. Allura had used extra emerald fabric to wrap it around the sleeves, creating the kind of long draping sleeves that were so popular that season, cut away so that the white ruffles poked out. While digging through the attic, Keith had found the perfect sparkling silver satin to give Allura to use as trim, sewing it onto the bodice, sleeves, and hem in an ornate branching floral pattern. She had designed the gown in a such a way that it would hug Pidge's figure and give emphasis to her thin waist and slim hips while giving the illusion of some kind of figure. As she turned to look at him, Keith couldn't help but smile. His halfsister looked a lot better than he ever had imagined.

"So I guess Allura managed to make me look like a lady after all," Pidge said quietly, and Keith realized she not only looked great, but felt great too. Suddenly all those extra expenses on fabric and trim seemed a little more worth it.

When the two descended the stairs and Pidge was presented to her stepfather, the man sized her up and down before wordlessly opening the door and hurrying her outside. That was as good as the two were going to get, and they were both fine with that. Any words of praise would've seemed fake anyway.

When the carriage pulled away and was out of sight, Keith was just about to go back inside when he heard someone calling out to him.

"Wait, Keith! Don't go inside yet!" He turned to see Allura rushing towards him, a worried and frantic look on her face. When she reached him, she put her hands on her knees, breathing hard, before looking at him sternly. "Just where have you been the past three months?! I've been worried sick!"

"My stepfather forbade me from leaving the house," Keith answered.

" _What?!_ But he can't do that!"

"He's my stepfather," Keith said in irritation, clearly wishing that that wasn't the case. "Of course he can."

"Well he shouldn't! That's terrible, not letting you leave the house for months… oh, but this makes everything even more perfect!" she said, clapping her hands together happily. Keith frowned and began to back away. "Oh, I haven't even said what my plan _is_ yet! Trust me, you'll love this! At least I think you will… anyways, just ask me what it is already!"

"...What's your plan?"

"You're gonna go to the ball!"

"No," Keith said immediately. Allura frowned, placing her hands on her hips.

"And why not?"

"Because, Allura, I don't know if you've noticed but I'm a _man_. Only women were invited."

"But you'd be taking my place, so it's fine! I don't want to go to some stuffy dance anyway, especially when I already have a boyfriend. But you, on the other hand, well, you should want to." When Keith just stared at her in confusion, she sighed exasperatedly before looking him square in the eyes and saying slowly "Don't you remember? A certain someone lives in the palace."

Keith's eyes widened when he realized what she was getting at and his cheeks instantly flushed red. Allura giggled. "I see you're not opposed to the idea."

"It would never work anyway," Keith said hurriedly, trying to get rid of any hope before he was let down. "Like I said, I'm a guy."

"That's what wigs are for, silly!" She cried, taking his hand and beginning to drag him down down the dirt road. "It'll all work out!"

"But I have to take care of the house and-"

"Oh just go already," a voice came from behind him and he turned to see Hunk standing in the doorway, staring at him. "It doesn't take a genius to see that you haven't been yourself these past few months. This'll be good for you. I can stay home tonight- not that I had plans or anything anyways."

"And I can help you get ready!" Allura chimed in. When she saw hesitance still in Keith's eyes, she sighed and spun him around so that he was facing her. "Listen to me, Keith. You like that guy, right? If you still like him now, then that feeling isn't going to go away. Trust me, I've been there, and it all somehow worked out for me. There's always hope. What if it turns out that Blue _is_ there? What if he sweeps you off your feet and you finally get the happy ending all of us know you deserve? As scared as you are that things won't turn out right, you have to muster up enough courage to try. You have to take that first step, okay? You can't just give up before you even try."

Keith stared at her for a moment, hundreds of thoughts racing through his mind. And then he steeled himself and nodded in agreement. She was right. And besides, he had never been one to give up in the first place.

…

"Just come out already!" Allura cried in irritation. Keith had refused to let her help him into the dress she had given him, so she was forced to wait outside while he struggled. And now that he finally had it on, he refused to show her! The nerve!

"It's way more embarrassing than I thought it would be!" Keith answered back, his voice strained.

"Who cares, no one will know it's you! Just come out here already!"

Keith frowned before swallowing heavily and stepping out from the closet doors. Allura stared at him in shock, her breath caught in her throat.

Keith looked positively stunning. The gown he was in was a dark crimson red color that hugged his toned upper body tightly. The neckline reached up to wrap around his neck in a choker like fashion, a small teardrop shaped opening revealing his collarbones. His shoulders were bare until just underneath the armpits where skin was replaced with shimmering golden chiffon split open in the middle to reveal his slender-yet-muscular arms, hints of ivory lace poking out from under the fabric as cream colored gloves stretched up his arms. Crimson swirled around his waist and legs as he stepped out, the layers of fabric staggered and lined with the same ivory lace as the sleeves. Along the end of of each layer of skirt, gold embroidered flowers danced around near the seams. A sparkling golden belt wrapped around his waist as the same flowers peaked out from beneath it. Two princess seams ran down the sides of the chest, giving the appearance of a feminine figure. You would never have guessed he was a boy, just a girl who didn't have too much up top.

"You look wonderful!" Allura cried happily, clapping her hands together as Keith blushed in embarrassment.

"I look like a joke," he replied awkwardly. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

"Hey, if you get to see him then it's all worth it, right?"

"I suppose," Keith begrudgingly agreed. "But what's the likelihood they'll allow a servant to go to a ball?"

"Well, maybe he's not a servant," Allura said helpfully. "After all, he never actually told you what he does, right?"

"That's true but…"

"Look, you need a break anyway," Allura cut him off before he could continue to doubt. "Ah! I almost forgot the most important part!" She yanked a long light brown wig off of her dresser and pulled it onto Keith's head, adjusting it so that it was situated properly. "Now they'll never know it's you, even if your family sees you! You totally look like a girl!"

"Wow thanks," Keith replied sarcastically. "Should I take the compliment or be offended?"

"Take the compliment, of course," Allura answered, grabbing him by the hand and leading him out the door and down the hall. "Now then, I can't lend you my family's carriage because it's easily recognizable and because my mother took it out today anyway. However, I did rent you a coach and it's waiting outside. I've already paid for it and everything, so don't even worry about that. Just go have fun at the ball, alright?" She opened the front door to reveal the carriage waiting for him as the coachmen bowed low. Keith nodded at her, walking towards the cream-and-gold cabin. As the coachman took his hand and helped him into the carriage, Keith looked back at his friend.

"Allura… thank you," he said quietly. Allura froze for a moment in shock as she watched the door close behind him and the driver move to grab the reins and start off towards the castle. That was the first time she had ever heard Keith say thank you to anyone. It was something the teen normally just didn't do. As she saw him look out the window anxiously at her, she quickly gave him her biggest grin and flashed a thumbs up. As much as she enjoyed free food balls, this was definitely the right choice. Maybe her friend was finally going to off to his happy ending.

…

Keith decided just a few minutes in that he was hopelessly out of place in the palace. All around him were lords and ladies dressed in fancy fineries, velvet gowns, silk suits, gold and jewels dripping from every inch of their skin. They held cocktail glasses with their pinkies out, sipping daintily and making light conversation about the most superficial topics, their faces tight with the traditional amused-yet-aloof expressions, bodies poised in elegant and refined positions. Keith had learned court etiquette from his stepfather at a young age, but seeing as he had never had a chance to practice it, he felt absolutely terrified.

And then the music started and everyone moved as if they already had a dance partner, gracefully maneuvering to them as if they didn't even have bones. All of a sudden Keith felt himself jostled around, and as he tried to get out of the crowd and over to the wall or the buffet, just anywhere that wasn't here, his feet caught on the heels of a girl's 5-inch stilettos and he found himself tumbling forward, face planting onto the ground as he tried desperately to keep his wig on.

Holding his chin in pain, he looked up to see a circle had formed around him, murmurs ringing among the crowd as they looked at him in disdain. Keith felt his face flushing bright red as he immediately lowered his gaze. This was definitely a mistake, he shouldn't've come, shouldn't've tried to relax for a few hours, shouldn't've-

"Hey, stop looking at her like that!" A voice cried. "Haven't you toffs ever seen someone trip before? It's an accident, not a social death sentence!"

Keith looked up to see a girl standing in front of him, dressed in a navy blue dress with periwinkle colored lace and chiffon wrapping over the skirt, pale blue ribbons wrapping up her bodice to hug her arms. A periwinkle colored ribbon held her curly dark brown hair in place, formed tightly into a braid and as she turned to face him, her tanned skin and-

Keith froze. Those eyes. Those bright blue eyes, the same color as the summer sky. He knew those eyes. This was him, this was _Blue_. Why he was in a dress and a wig, Keith had no idea (not that he was one to judge), but there was no way this wasn't the boy he had met in town so many months ago. He almost said something to him, almost pulled the wig off right then and there, but something stopped him. A tiny voice told him not to. As he thought about it, he realized that if he did, his stepfather would instantly recognize him and, well, let's just say being thrown out of the house would be getting off lightly.

"...Thanks," Keith murmured instead, taking the hand that was offered to him and standing up.

"Not a problem," Blue answered. "Those buffoons just gawk over everything, so don't feel too embarrassed. They think every little mistake is hilarious, and that tripping means you completely lack any kind of grace."

"Well, they aren't wrong," Keith replied. "This is my first ball and it's not really…"

"Fun?" Blue took the words right out of Keith's mouth and he smiled. "Well, you clearly haven't been trying hard enough then! Allow me to show you, m'lady!"

And with that, Blue took Keith's hands and pulled him onto the dance floor. The boy easily wrapped his arm around Keith's hips, using his free hand to guide him in time to the music. As embarrassed as he felt, dancing with another boy (and in women's clothing no less), it was clear that Blue knew what he was doing as they effortlessly waltzed around the ballroom. Other couples moved out of their way as the two sashayed and twirled in a blur of crimson and navy. As the music continued and escalated to the climax of the piece, Blue smirked at Keith before squeezing his hand tightly. Before he had any time to think, Keith was suddenly falling backwards into Blue's arms as the boy dipped him low, the ends of Keith's light brown wig brushing the tiled floor. Then he was quickly flung back up and the song ended with the two of them, both heavily out of breath, standing just a bit too close for comfort, in the ending position of what seemed to be more of a tango than a waltz.

Keith was shocked when he began to hear applause ring in the air. He looked around to see some of the other couples smiling and nodding at him, giving the pair thumbs up and encouraging expressions as if they wanted to see more.

"See?" Blue said as Keith's attention snapped back to him. "Wasn't that fun?" Keith stared at him for a moment, face flushed and out of breath, before a small smile crossed his face and he nodded his agreement. Blue grinned widely at that and, with the tiniest satisfied hmph, pulled him back onto the dancefloor as the music resumed.

They spent the better part of two hours dancing like that until, much as he was enjoying himself, Keith realized he needed a break some time soon or he was gonna pass out. His stamina was meant for doing chores, not dancing. And clearly Blue noticed this too because after they finished another ballroom waltz, the teen pulled Keith away and towards the wall, away from the hectic dancefloor.

"Why don't you and I go somewhere else?" Blue asked lightly, just the smallest smirk on his face in amusement.

"But-" Keith started to say, not wanting to make the tanned boy go with him when it was obvious he was having so much fun, but Blue cut him off.

"Don't worry, just come! I can tell you need a break, so let's go to the garden. It's my favorite place in the palace." Keith hesitated for a minute before agreeing, giving in to the eager look on Blue's face. The crossdressing boy's face lit up and he grabbed Keith's hand pulling him along through the big glass double doors and down a staircase into a pavilion. "Hold on, I'll take you to this secret place only I know about."

With that, Blue lead him into a hedge maze, leading him through so many twists and turns that Keith was sure he wouldn't be able to find his way out again by himself. Eventually they reached a small hole in the hedge. Keith barely had time to turn the corner before he saw just the ends of Blue's navy dress whisk away through the gap in the hedges. Keith approached it just a little bit unsure but, after a few seconds, he pushed through the thick branches and into a rainbow of colors.

Keith's breath caught in his throat as he took in the view: roses _everywhere_. There had to be thousands of them, all different colors and sizes everywhere he looked. Dark pink ones, cream ones, red ones, yellow ones with golden tips, white-and-pink swirled ones, even blue roses, he had never seen those before. Meanwhile, Blue watched his dance partner slowly begin to walk around the small garden in awe. Then Keith's eyes landed on a small patch of roses near the far corner by the hedges, their petals so pale and thin that they almost looked white, if not for the faint green hue that seemed to glow in the dim light of the garden.

"These are Green Tea roses," Keith whispered quietly, moving over to them and kneeling down, a sad look on his face.

"I'm surprised you knew," Blue said, coming up just a few feet behind Keith. "They aren't a very popular breed."

"They were my mother's favorite," Keith answered. "I used to pick them from the patch of wild ones in the woods by my house everyday when she was sick. She always loved them, and green roses are supposed to represent life and abundance… I guess I had hoped she'd get better if she saw her favorite flower."

"...I'm sorry," Blue said softly, placing his hand gently on Keith's back. Keith glanced behind him and gave the worried boy a faint smile.

"It's okay," he replied. "It was a long time ago. I've gotten over it now." Seeing that the tanned teen didn't look like he felt any better, Keith quickly tried to change the topic. "Why don't you tell me about this garden? It's so beautiful and wellgroomed, surely you can't be the only one to know about it."

"I planted all of these," Blue answered proudly. Keith turned to look at him in surprise.

"You planted _all_ of this?" He said in shock. "That's amazing," he breathed. "This must have taken you years, you couldn't possibly have maintained this all by yourself. Really, no one else knows about it?"

"Well now you know too," Blue answered. "So I'm not the _only_ one. And besides, if I told people then they'd always come to this area of the royal gardens since they're open to the public and I don't want that. This is my special place after all."

"Then why did you take me here?" Keith asked. Blue glanced at him before looking away nervously, a light flush on his face.

"Because… you're special too," he answered. Keith stared at him for a moment, processing what the boy just said. When it registered, he felt his face heating up and looked up at Blue, who looked equally embarrassed. "I know we just met but… I don't know, it feels like I've known you for a long time."

 _You're right about that,_ Keith thought as he smiled at the blushing tanned boy. "I think so too," Keith said gently. "Which is why I want you to have this." He reached up around his own neck and unfastened one of the two twin necklaces that he always wore, removing the heart-shaped lock from his neck and holding it out to Blue.

"A necklace?" Blue asked curiously, to which Keith nodded.

"My mother gave me these right before she passed away," he murmured quietly. "She told me that when I found someone important to me, someone that I really care about, I should give them one of these. I have the key," Keith said, holding up the small golden key engraved with roses and an intricate vine pattern. "And it opens that lock. It's the only key like it in the world and it's made in such a way that even master keys can't open it. It's a family heirloom and it's supposed to be passed down through every generation."

"Then it's beautiful but I can't accept it," Blue replied. "Shouldn't you be giving this to your husband or your boyfriend?"

"She never said it had to be my significant other." Keith blushed as he added "Only someone I care about with all my heart."

"...Then I'm honored," Blue replied, smiling widely as Keith reached up to latch it around his neck. "This's gotta be the most priceless gift I've ever received."

"Even with antiquity, it's only worth about $1000," Keith scoffed in response, eyeing the fancy dress and glittering jewelry adorning Blue's body. "Surely you've gotten things much more expensive than this."

"Price isn't determined by the monetary value, but by the feelings behind it," Blue replied.

"...That's very poetic of you," Keith said.

"Thanks. Read it in a book once." Blue grinned as Keith rolled his eyes. "But seriously, this is… this means a lot to me. I'll definitely treasure it. Thank you."

"I'm sure my mother would be happy to hear that you'd value this so much," Keith replied just as the bell tower began to ring.

"Oh shit, is that late already?" Blue cursed. "C'mon, we gotta get back to the ballroom, they're gonna do the symbolic passing of the crown now."

"I can't believe it's already midnight," Keith said as he hurried to follow Blue through the gap in the hedges and back through the maze. As the two hurried along, Blue slowed for a moment and glanced behind him, a wide smirk on his face.

"Y'know, this is kinda like you giving me your heart," he said, holding up the golden lock. Keith flushed red and pushed the tanned boy lightly. Blue barely stumbled, laughing all the while.

"You're so stupid," Keith answered, but it was obvious by the tone of his voice that that comment had made him happy.

As the two raced up the stairs and through the double doors back into the dancehall, a group of men dressed in the royal guard uniforms swarmed them almost instantly. Keith was utterly confused as he watched them whisk Blue away saying something about… his royal highness? As he listened to them, Keith's face was going paler by the second. No. No, no, this couldn't possibly be happening, there was no way…

He stood there frozen as the nation's anthem began to play, as the king, appeared at the top of a balcony above the crowd, holding the royal crown jewels in symbolism high as another person, who could only be the crown prince walked out from behind the curtain… a very familiar person dressed in a navy gown with tanned skin and sky blue eyes.

Keith instantly felt sick to his stomach. _This couldn't be happening_ he repeated in his mind as he staggered backwards, desperately trying to make it to the doorway leading out to the carriages. There was just no way, how could Blue be the prince?!

...But then again, a prince could be considered a civil servant, right? He served the people, so in a way, it worked. And of course a prince would live in the palace, that was obvious. Then you had that fancy carriage he rode in when he left Keith's town, not to mention his inexperience in the marketplace and that strange nickname. Blue… that could easily be a nickname for Lance, the name of the crown prince who was next in line for the throne, who was famous for his shining sky blue eyes and matching blue armor, and oh, why didn't he notice this before?! It was so obvious yet Keith had failed to put two and two together and now… now it didn't matter because Blue was the crown prince and Keith was… well, he was more or less a servant. Their places in society couldn't be more different.

However, as awful as he felt at this realization, somehow he felt numb as he stumbled out to the area where the carriages were, only for it to be devoid of life. As he looked around, he couldn't find his driver anywhere until he heard the sound of laughter drifting over to him. He followed the voices over to a small entranceway that had been propped open and peeked in to see a group of coachmen circling around a pair (his own driver included) guzzling ale as fast as they could while crude cries of "Chug! Chug!" echoed around the room. Normally Keith would have yelled at them, but right now he just didn't have the heart for it. Looks like he had to walk home, which wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't 20 miles away and he wasn't wearing heels.

As he began to long walk back, he couldn't help himself from spinning around at the last second to slam his fist into the castle wall, ignoring the pain that shot through his fingers when he did so. It was all this stupid castle's fault in the first place. Why did Blu-Lance have to live there? Why did he have to be the prince? And why, oh why, did he just _have_ to be the one Keith fell in love with? It made him sick to his stomach.

And then he heard a voice drift down to him and felt ice shoot through his spine. That voice could only be Lance, and from the sound of it, he was looking for Keith. Not a second later, Keith reached down to his crimson and gold heels, ripping off the heeled part of the shoes so they were at least flat and took off down the castle road, ducking onto the side path leading into the woods and to his village the first chance he got. He reached the treeline and tried to ignore the desperation that he had heard in Lance's voice, ignored the desires to run back to him, ignored all the sweet words he had been told. Those were before Lance knew who he was. As his feet hit the dirt road, Keith realized that he had never told Lance his name and decided it was better that way. He didn't want to ruin the perfect image the prince had of his mysterious princess.

A few drops of water hit his bare shoulders and he looked up to see that the sky was beginning to rain down on him. How fitting. Keith's pace slowed as the raindrops began to pour down from the clouds above, his shoulders starting to shake. Looks like those tears were finally catching up with him and it was clear that they wouldn't go away no matter how much he willed them to. A broken heart must be different than the loss of a parent, he decided. At least then he had had his siblings to think of. Right now, he was all alone in the forest, after midnight, with miles and miles between him and home. He had been holding them back for years after all, surely it was okay now, right?

His tears didn't wait for the answer.


	3. Chapter 3

Keith didn't know how long he had been walking before the sound of wheels racing over the mud and the gallop of horses reached his ears. For a moment, he was worried it was the prince. However, he quickly realized they were coming from in front of him and not a moment later, a carriage could be seen coming into sight. It screeched to a halt as the horses stopped mid-trot and the door to the carriage flew open to reveal a worried-looking Allura racing out of the car and over to him.

"Keith!" she cried, throwing her arms around him. "I was so worried! What took you so long? Surely you should've-" she stopped when she pulled back, freezing to take in the sight of her friend.

His once-beautiful crimson dress was now soaking wet and streaked with dirt, the skirt dragging in the mud behind him, torn and ragged at the ends. Keith had long since discarded the pieces of the heels and cream gloves, also choosing to rip off the long sleeves in favor of less weight to carry. The light brown wig still sat on his head, but instead of the perfect curls Allura had spent an hour trying to get, it just looked dirty and more like a wet rat, strings of the fake golden hair plastered to the side of Keith's face and his back. His skin was pale, damp, and covered in goosebumps as he stood there shivering, his blue-gray eyes red and raw, distinct tear tracks streaking down his cheeks.

"Oh, Keith," Allura murmured, instantly falling back into her motherly instincts and ushering her friend along with her into the carriage. Instructing the coachmen to head back towards the village, she turned her full attention on Keith. "What happened?" She asked softly.

"It was amazing," Keith replied quietly after a moment. " _He_ was amazing- positively, completely, heartbreakingly amazing."

"...So he _was_ there then?"

"Yeah… he was there… and he didn't recognize me but I recognized him and he was… he was _beautiful_ , Allura, god, why does he have to be so amazing and cute and _nice_ , so damn _nice_ , it just makes everything harder." Keith's voice broke just a little bit on that last part.

"Did you two argue? Or fight? Does he already have someone he's going out with? Or maybe-"

"No, no, none of that, like I said, he was wonderful," Keith cut her off, his voice wistful. "He was so good to me, and he didn't even know he knew me, yet he still helped me and danced with me and he even took me this secret garden he has and- and I gave him the locket."

"The one your mother gave you?" Allura asked slowly. When Keith nodded, she raised a hand to her mouth in surprise. "Keith… you really like him, don't you," she said, not voicing it as a question because the answer was obvious. Keith hesitated for a moment before nodding again, this time not raising his head.

"But there's no point," he murmured, continuing before Allura could ask anything. "It doesn't matter what I feel because it's entirely fruitless. It's not fair, Allura, it's just not _fair_. Out of all the people in the world, why did I have to fall in love with the one person I can never have?"

"Why can't you-"

"Because he's the goddamn _prince!_ " Keith cried suddenly, jerking his head up to reveal tears welling up again in his eyes, wearing the most pained expression Allura had ever seen on his face. "He's the prince, he's next in line for the throne, _this entire stupid ball was for him to pick a fiancee!_ And who ever heard of a fiancee who's male? Certainly not anyone in the royal family."

Keith fell back against the seat, bitter and exhausted. Normally, he would never have let anyone see him in this state, but right now he didn't care. He didn't want to think about anything at all and try to erase the night from his memories. Allura reached out and, without a word, pulled the quivering boy into a warm hug, trying her best to help mend his broken heart even though she knew that nothing she could do would help. Keith sat motionlessly as the carriage bumped along down the road, leading back to his home, back to his life as nothing more than a servant to his ungrateful stepfather. He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying desperately to remain calm as he murmured one last thing before he allowed himself to drift off into a cold, dreamless sleep.

"I already knew the palace was no place for someone like me. This entire thing was a mistake."

…

Meanwhile, back at the palace, a very irritated and frantic Lance was pacing back and forth in his frilly navy dress as the king stood behind him, shaking his head in annoyance.

"So you're telling me that you _did_ manage to somehow found a fiancee, even in that ridiculous getup, and yet she left before you even learned her _name_?" The older man said slowly, trying his best to make sense of the slur of words that had left Lance's mouth just moments before.

"Yes, that's exactly it," Lance nodded in agreement.

"How did it not occur to you that _her name might be IMPORTANT to know?!_ "

"It didn't come up!" Lance cried defensively.

"How do introductions not come up?!" The king shot back.

"I don't know, we just kinda started dancing and things went from there. I didn't realize I didn't know her name until she took off," Lance said, shrugging. "Besides, who runs away from a prince? Certainly no girl I know!"

"You're wearing a dress, you idiot," the king replied. "You don't even look remotely masculine, isn't that why you wore the dress in the first place? I distinctly remember you telling me it was because you wanted to-"

"Yeah, yeah, because I wanted to meet someone and hit it off with them just being myself and not as the prince," Lance quickly interjected, reciting the well-rehearsed reasoning he gave the king for his crossdressing. There's no way he'd ever tell his dad that part of it was just because he wanted to try wearing a dress. "And I did meet someone and she was everything you could want in a bride! Kind, friendly, just the littlest bit awkward but absolutely adorable, she even- _THAT'S ITI_ " His exclamation was so loud that the king jumped backwards, his ears ringing.

"What's 'it'?" he asked, the tone of his voice giving away just how frustrated he was with his son right now.

"She gave me this!" he cried, holding up the small golden heart-shaped lock from its position around his neck. The king looked at it, frowning skeptically.

"So it's just a necklace? I thought by the tone of your voice, you meant her address or some way to contact her."

"Stupid, it's not _just_ a necklace, it's a family heirloom! Her dead mom gave it to her and told her to give it to the person she cared about, and she gave it to me! _Me!_ We only just met and she still gave it to me! How cute is that?!"

"Yes, yes, it's adorable, now how will that help us find her?"

"Because! This lock only has one key that opens it! Even master keys won't work! So if we find the girl who has the key-"

"Then we find your bride!" The king interrupted, his voice sounding uncharacteristically happy for his normal self. Of course, that was because he had truly believed that the ball would prove to be pointless and that he would have to force his son to marry someone from a neighboring country or from one of the lord's households, and if that happened, well, the king knew that he could kiss his precious son goodbye faster than Rhett Butler left Scarlett in _Gone with the Wind_ (which wasn't all that fast if you think about it, but still). "Get the royal guard, Lance, you have a princess to find!"

…

In the days following the ball, it was clear to everyone in the manor that something was wrong with Keith. Although he still completed all tasks his stepfather delegated to him, he did so with unusual complacency and despondence. His siblings had caught him more than once staring at the small key hanging around his neck with a lonely look on his face. Of course, whenever they questioned him about it, he would say that everything was fine, and it was almost believable- except for the fact that he looked like he was going to cry every time he said those words.

Keith himself had done his best to not think about what had happened, to write it down as an extraordinary occurrence in an otherwise dull life and move on, enjoying the memory every once in awhile. However, it wasn't that easy. Every time he thought back to that night, he would curse his stepfather for forcing him to live like this, he would curse Allura for encouraging him to go, even though he knew it wasn't her fault, but more than anything, he would curse himself- for not realizing Blue was the prince, for choosing to go to the ball, for ever going to town and helping Blue in the first place, and most of all, for being stupid enough to believe that he could escape this miserable life even if it was just for a few hours.

But he had been dealing with it the best he could, and he thought (hoped, really) that it was starting to get easier. It wasn't until two weeks after the ball, when word of what had occurred that night reached his village, that things went downhill.

The day had started out normal: Keith arose at dawn to get breakfast prepared before waking his siblings and setting the table. After that, he had gone to clean the bathrooms while his stepfather had set out for town down to the small (and only) law office for the next 20 miles. It was a rare day off for Pidge, who had neither lectures at the local school nor etiquette lessons that day, and she had promised to stay home and help Keith fix up some of the aging things in the house. Ever since she and Hunk had caused that ruckus with their father all those weeks ago, she had been more helpful than ever around the house.

It was about an hour before lunchtime that their stepfather had thrown the front door open and stormed inside in a frenzy, the fury and rage obvious on his face. The first person he had seen upon entry was Hunk. Moving towards him in less than a second, he had grabbed his son's shoulder, squeezing tight as he hissed through gritted teeth " _Where. Is. He._ "

Hunk, absolutely terrified and despiser of conflict, raised a trembling finger and pointed to the backyard where Keith was in the process of hanging up the laundry to dry. The man shoved him aside as he stormed over to the door, yanking it open as his eyes narrowed when they landed on his stepson.

Keith barely had time to turn around before his stepfather had grabbed him by the collar and wrenched him forward so that their faces were only centimeters apart.

" _How dare you,_ " he hissed icily, the man's voice dripping with venom and anger. " _How dare you go against my back like that._ "

"Father, I don't-" Keith managed to gasp out, hardly able to speak due to the tight grip the man had on his clothes. "I don't know what you're-"

" _The ball_." Those two words were the only ones needed as a chill shot down Keith's spine. How. How could his stepfather have figured it out, he had made sure to steer clear of him and Pidge at the ball so how could he possibly have- ... _the necklace._ That had to be it. It was the only possible way for the man to figure it out but that was something only Allura knew about, so how did his stepfather know? Meanwhile, his stepfather's face hardened when his son made no moves to reject the accusation. Keith was cut off mid-thought as the man slammed a fist into the side of his face, sending him slamming into the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of him.

As Keith raised a hand to his swollen red cheek, his vision spun and he could taste the metallic tang of blood on the inside of his mouth. This was the angriest he had ever seen his stepfather; as mad as he had gotten, Keith had never been punched before, but this… this was different. He quickly realized that whatever he did now was futile, the man would beat him either way. Keith was powerless.

"You're a _disgrace_ ," his stepfather spat out. "You bring shame on our entire family! Not only did you disobey your stepfather and go to a ball that I clearly told you was not allowed, you also dressed up as a _girl_! I don't know which is worse! Either way, it's dishonorable! It's sickening! I have half a mind to disown you and throw you onto the streets! The only and I mean _only_ thing holding me back is that you care for those brats so I don't have to, so be thankful your mother was such a good breeding horse!"

"Don't you dare talk about her like that!" Keith interrupted, his voice rising in anger. Before he could continue, his stepfather had grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked him up to stare him in the eyes. It took everything Keith had not to start fighting back; he knew he'd be the one punished by the law if he did.

" _Don't_ talk back to me," his father hissed. "Or you'll regret it." With that, he shoved his stepson back onto the ground and glared down at him through slitted eyes. "You will give your sister that key."

"...what does mom's key have to do with anything?" Keith asked cautiously.

"The prince has declared that he is marrying the owner of a key that can open a locket he was given at the ball," his stepfather said coldly. "Even if my son is a complete disappointment, I can still get the position I rightfully deserve in the royal court if your sister marries him. And then I can live a life of luxury and forget all about you."

Keith was shocked. Lance was actually trying to find him? He actually cared enough to look for him and- and _marry_ him? That was- wait, no, Lance still thought he was a girl. He thought he was going to marry a lady of the court, not someone less than a servant. At least servants were paid. But the more Keith thought about it, the more he desperately didn't want to hand over his necklace. It was all he had connecting him to his mother, and now, it was what connected him to Lance. So Keith looked up at his stepfather and then slowly shook his head. "No," he murmured, then said again loudly. "No, I won't. That key is mine, you have no right to take it from me!"

His stepfather's eyes widened, shocked that his stepson was defying him. Then as quickly as it came, the emotion vanished to be replaced with pure, unadulterated rage. With lightning swift ferocity, his stepfather charged at him, hands wrapping around Keith's pale neck and cutting off all air to his lungs. The boy thrashed in his grip, finally trying to attack the bigger man and get away from his stepfather's murderous intentions but the surprise of the attack combined with his already aching chest and head made escape too difficult. As his lungs burned and tears welled in the corners of his eyes, Keith's vision began to swim with black spots. Right before he passed out, his stepfather released his grip, letting Keith fall back onto the ground. He rolled onto his side and began to cough, trying to clear the disgusting tightness from his throat. He saw his stepfather reach down towards him again and he flinched, only to find that when the man pulled away, he was holding the small golden key in his hand.

Keith's heart plummeted at this, but as much as he wanted to fight back and take the necklace back, his body wasn't listening to him very well right now.

"Give it back," he said, his voice raw and hoarse. "Mother gave that to _me_!" Keith's stepfather looked back at him, his face emotionless. He paused for a second before walking back and grabbing his son's wrist and yanked him to his feet, all but dragging the boy back into the house.

"Father, what are you doing?!" Keith could hear Pidge's worried voice echo from the doorway to the living room as he was pulled past it. The patter of the feet of his halfsiblings followed them down the hall and up the staircase. When Keith realized where they were going, he tried to pull his arm away, but his stepfather's iron grip and his aching body made it too difficult. The pair stopped in front of the doorway as his stepfather yanked it open and practically threw his son into the room. Keith barely had time to look up before the door was slammed in his face, the sound of a lock being clicked into place echoing throughout the stuffy attic room.

He stood, wobbling a bit, but managed to make it to the door, yanking on the handle only to find it held fast. Frustration clear on his face, Keith pounded his fist on the door, jiggling the handle and pushing all his body weight against it in a fruitless effort to move the heavy wooden barricade. He could hear arguing in the distance and managed to make out Pidge and their stepfather's voices raised in anger. He was worried for his halfsister, considering how incensed he had made his stepfather, but right now he was more concerned about getting out of the attic.

"Let me out!" He yelled, wincing at how raw his voice sounded. However, that wasn't going to stop him from trying everything he could to escape. "Father, you can't do this to me! _Let me out!_ "

…

"I don't want to do this," Pidge said angrily. Her stepfather's eyes narrowed and he yanked the last string on her corset tighter, smiling at her grunt of pain.

"You don't have a choice in the matter," the older man said, his voice cold. "You know what will happen to your older brother should you disobey me." Pidge stiffened as he said this, remembering her stepfather's words a few days ago.

" _Should you refuse to listen to me as well, you can kiss your brother goodbye. I'll be sure to throw him out of the house_ and _the country. We'll see how long he can survive on his own."_

"I know," she answered quietly, suppressing her anger. It would only make Keith's situation worse if she did something now; no, she needed to bide her time and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. There was no way she was letting her elder brother continue to suffer like this. And she had a plan, of course. It involved Hunk and Allura, but she had done a lot of thinking and was fairly certain she had found the perfect way to free him. Besides, she wasn't called the brain of the family for nothing "Father, if I may ask, could I have Allura come over? She's gone to many balls in the past and is used to talking to royalty, and since the prince will be here soon, I'm a bit nervous."

Her stepfather stared at her, clearly thinking hard and weighing his options before nodding stiffly and leaving the room. Pidge sighed in relief. So far, so good. A few minutes later, the sound of footsteps sounded in the hall and the bedroom door flew open as in hurried Allura, Hunk, and-

"Shiro?" Pidge asked curiously. It was the first time in nearly a year since she had seen him ever since he'd left for the castle to become a knight. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard Keith was in trouble," the man answered simply, to which Pidge rolled her eyes. She should've guessed as much.

"Funny, if that's all it took to bring you back, then where have you been all this time? It's not like he hasn't been in trouble at all before this." Pidge couldn't hold back just a quick biting remark, after all, Keith had always looked up to Shiro as a sort of big brother figure. With his departure, Keith had grown even more withdrawn.

"I'm sorry," Shiro answered quietly, and even Pidge had to forgive him when he made that face like a hurt puppy.

"Don't bully him, Pidge," Allura scolded, giving her boyfriend's hand a quick squeeze before she turned her attention back to the smaller girl, sizing her up. "You look like him," she said quietly. The girl was dressed in a red dress reminiscent of the one Keith had worn to the ball, only a bit less complex, and was wearing the same light brown wig from that night. She actually did look quite a bit like her halfbrother, if it wasn't for their different eye colors and heights. But it was just in appearance. The way she carried herself was different, ambivalence almost oozing off her in droves, yet still somehow giving off a strange sort of confidence, whereas Keith was more withdrawn and reserved, like he was constantly trying to sink into himself and avoid human contact. And yet, out of the two of them, Keith had always seemed to have a somewhat regal air about him that the rest of his family lacked.

"Yeah right," Pidge said. "If that prince falls for this, I swear I'm gonna punch him. Keith deserves better."

"I agree," Allura laughed. "So, what's the plan?"

"Well, first off we need to get the key to the attic door. To do that, we need to get him to put the keys down for a moment. They hang from his waist normally, so if we can get him to change his pants, then he'll have to take them off, so Allura, since you're from a noble house that's higher up than ours, plus since you're a guest, I need you to spill something on him. He won't retaliate if it's you," she explained. "You'll need to get the attic key off the keyring when he goes to change. It should be easy to spot, it's old, bronze, and kind of rusted." Allura nodded and hurried off as Pidge turned to the others. "As for you two, I need you to get the key from Allura and go unlock the attic once she's done. Allura won't be able to leave immediately or father might get suspicious. Oh, and get Keith to put this on." She held up a bundle of deep blue fabric that she and Allura had spent hours working on and yanked the light brown wig from her head. Shiro took the garments in his arms and nodded hesitantly.

"I'm not sure he'll put this on willingly though…" he said, his voice trailing off in uncertainty as he tried to imagine Keith in a dress. Pidge rolled her eyes.

"Tell him to put it on or else he'll be paying for it, and no, I don't know how yet, but he will, okay? It's his last chance to get his prince, he had better not blow it. As for me, I'll be _entertaining_ his highness, the prince," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

The two nodded, hurrying out of the room and down the hall after Allura. Pidge sighed, reaching a hand up to run it through her chestnut brown hair.

"I really hope this works."


	4. Chapter 4

Allura darted into the kitchen and yanked open the pantry cabinet, searching for some kind of sticky liquid to use. Her eyes landed on the grape juice and lit up. Not only would this be sticky, it would smell funny _and_ it would stain. Perfect! She pulled three glasses from a shelf and filled them up before positioning them on a tray and walking back down the hallway towards the stepfather's study. She paused in front of it, knocking on the door. When it opened, she put on her brightest smile and straightened up in front of the scowling man.

"Hi Sir!" She said cheerily, stepping forward as if she was going inside the room. "Pidge and I were thirsty and I thought you might want-" she broke off with a yelp as she purposefully tumbled forward, making sure to spill the juice all over him. Of course she couldn't stop it from getting on herself too, but that didn't really matter at the moment.

"Oh!" She gasped in fake shock and worry. "I'm so sorry, sir!"

"...That's alright, Allura, dear," the older man said finally, an obviously strained smile on his face as he kept his rage from boiling over. "Accidents happen." Those last few words were uttered through gritted teeth and for the first time, Allura was _glad_ she was born into a duke's household.

She watched as the man disappeared around a corner and into a room. Following him, she cautiously stuck her head into the doorway to see where he had gone. The bathroom door had just clicked shut as the stained pair of trousers lay on the bed. She raced over to it, feeling around for the keyring until her hands brushed metal. She clenched her fist around it and pulled out the metal ring. After a few second of flipping through the key, she found the right one and jimmied it, maneuvering it's connecting metal ring until it slipped through the iron rod.

"Yes!" she said quietly, grabbing the bronze key and hurrying out of the room just as the bathroom door opened again. She did her best to keep her steps quiet as she raced back down the hall, nearly running into Shiro and Hunk when she rounded the bend.

"Allura, the key!" Shiro said. Hunk glanced at the older man before holding out his hands, realizing that he wouldn't be able to carry it, considering he was practically buried under frills of sapphire blue. Allura handed it to Hunk before hurrying off back towards Pidge's room. "Let's go!" Shiro cried as he ran towards the staircase, Hunk close behind him.

They darted up the spiral staircase, stopping in front of the door. Shiro dropped the dress and wig on the ground as he took the key from Hunk, sliding it into the lock and jiggling it around a bit until it turned and he could shove the door open.

Keith looked up in surprise to stare at them. He quickly took in the scene before him, analyzing it quickly before his eyes narrowed and he frowned.

"You two… surely you didn't do this behind stepfather's back," Keith said, barely even processing that Shiro was there. As the two males shared uneasy glances, his heart sank. "Shut the door and go back downstairs. Whatever you're doing isn't worth the punishment later."

"There won't _be_ any punishment," Hunk said after a moment, crossing his arms in defiance. "Because you'll be the new princess - er, prince? Princess? Anyways, you'll be the new prin-something of the kingdom and then dad won't be able to threaten _any_ of us anymore!"

"What are you talking about, Hunk?" Keith asked tiredly, not really wanting anything to do with his siblings hairbrained schemes. He just wasn't in the mood, and so far wouldn't be in it for the foreseeable future. But then Hunk gave his reasoning and Keith's blood ran cold.

"It's the prince! He's coming today!"

The black-haired boy was frozen, a million thoughts racing through his mind at once. He had known that eventually the prince would've made his way to their town, but he hadn't thought that he would ever be able to see him, hadn't expected his siblings to even attempt to pull some kind of stunt, and most certainly hadn't prepared himself for what he believed would be utter rejection at the hands of the prince.

"That doesn't affect me," Keith said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. Hunk was about to say something but stopped when Shiro shook his head, scowling as he stepped forward to loom over Keith.

"Okay Keith, listen up," he said, hands resting on his hips as he assumed that lecturing tone he always did when he was about to say something he thought was really important. "I know I haven't been here recently, and it's true that I don't completely understand everything that's going on, but what I do get is that, at some point, you met the prince, and at some point, you two interacted enough for you to be on the prince's mind. You don't live in the palace but I do, and from the way the other knights of the royal guard are talking - particularly the ones surrounding the prince - it's pretty clear that he likes you back. And from what I've seen here, you like him. So why won't you go and see him? I get that you're nervous, but that's no reason to stop you. It never has before."

"Shiro's right," a voice from behind them said. Three heads turned to see Pidge appear at the top of the staircase, a sad look on her face.

"Listen Keith," she said gently, her brows furrowed as she tried to make sense of what she wanted to say. "How do I phrase this? I-I guess I can't help but think this is partly my fault. You've gone through so much at the hands of that fucking awful man just because you're trying to keep us safe. But I'm your sister- even if it _is_ only by half. When mom died, I should've tried to carry some of the burden as well. I shouldn't have just pushed everything onto you while I ran away from being a lady and focused on making my inventions and enjoying life. It's my fault. I noticed how much you were suffering, but I pretended like I didn't and now I'm finally getting a chance to make things right- but you have to let me do that. Trust me Keith, this isn't some kind of elaborate trick we're playing. All we want right now is for you to be happy."

Keith stared at his halfsister in shock. This was, perhaps, the most emotion she had ever shown him aside from irritation or anger. He wanted to refute what she had said, but he knew that she was right: he _had_ done everything for them, but as much as he hated his life, he had never blamed either of his halfsiblings.

"Pidge, you're my sister," he said after a few seconds. "My _younger_ sister. That means I should protect you; that I _want_ to protect you. Both of you. Like you said, things haven't exactly been rainbows and sunshine for me, and yes, stepfather seems to hate me for some reason, but all the same, I've been happy living with you two, watching over you. We're family and that means I look out for you. That's how family works."

"Then it's high time we look out for you," Pidge answered. Keith opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by a small voice coming from below him.

"Hey Keith?" Keith turned to look at his halfbrother as he took a step forward. The boy looked a little confused but also determined, in a way. "Look, uh, I don't really know what's going on all that much, seeing as I'm almost always at the academy but I know you and the prince are kinda almost a thing and I know the prince likes you and… well, will the prince make you happy?"

It only took a moment before Keith nodded as a faint wistful smile crossed his face, much to the surprise of everyone else in the room, who'd rarely gotten the chance to see the black-haired boy make that sort of expression. "Yeah. I think he would."

"Well then you should go to meet him. Do you remember Keith? Up until a few years ago, I was still having you read fairy tales to me just because I liked them. Even though it was kinda dumb, you would still read them to me, and then you'd always say at the end 'Hunk, when you grow up, if there's someone you're in love with, then you need to do everything you can to be with that person because happy endings only come to those who work for them' and then lecture me about how fairy tales are incorrect and how magic isn't real and life doesn't work that way. Honestly, it was kind of irritating - and still is, now that I think about it - but I also think that means you can't let that prince go away without you," Hunk said in a firm voice. This was probably the most Keith had talked to Hunk in a long while; they had always seemed to miss each other before this, what with Hunk mostly staying at the military academy all day and Keith always being busy with chores nearly all hours of the day. But hearing that even his halfbrother was supporting him made this entire thing seem that much more feasible.

"Just to add this in, I can't think of anyone who's worked harder than you," Pidge said, smiling at her older brother.

"So? What will you do?" Shiro asked, already knowing what Keith's answer would be. After that kind of speech from his siblings, how could it be any different?

Keith looked at his three friends before a look of determination crossed his face. When he spoke again, their faces lit up.

"Where's my wig?"

…

"Oh thank god you're back!" Allura cried as Pidge walked back into the room. "I don't think I could've stalled much longer!"

"Stalled what?" Pidge asked in confusion.

"The prince! He's here! Your father came up to get you; I had to tell him you were using the lady's room but I don't think he would've bought it for much longer." Pidge nodded. She had no time to really prepare herself for this as Allura grabbed her arm and dragged her down the hallway. She made sure to reposition the light brown curls Allura had worked hard to get into her unruly hair after they had given Keith the wig as she descended the stairs and entered into the sitting room.

"There she is!" Her father cried in an uncharacteristically happy voice. "My beloved daughter! We were getting worried you might not come."

Pidge nodded at the man before turning her gaze to the boy who was seated on the plush chaise, his finger tapping nervously against his leg. When her eyes met his, the tanned teen stood, bowing low in front of her before breaking into a wide smile. Pidge quickly sized him up. He was dressed in black slacks tucked into tall dark brown riding boots and a white blouse. A navy vest fastened up smartly with shimmering golden buttons as the collar brushed stiffly around his neck. The white sleeves stretching down his arms billowed out before pulling in sharply to form cuffs striped with the same navy and gold as his vest. The colors accentuated his tanned skin and dark brown hair well, his sky blue eyes flashing in recognition as he took in the sight of Pidge. All in all, she decided, not too shabby at all. No wonder Keith fell for him.

"My lady!" He said happily, reaching out to take her hand as he knelt down to kiss it. "It warms my heart to see you once again!" It was clear that the boy had rehearsed those lines before, but it sounded sincere all the same. He was probably nervous and Pidge could hardly blame him, so she simply nodded in response, smiling at him.

"And I you, my prince," she replied, curtsying low and reminding herself that she was in front of royalty and needed to remember those etiquette lessons now more than ever. "I see you're looking as beautiful as ever. Clothes make the man- or in that case, girl, hmm?" The prince chuckled awkwardly.

"Ah, yeah, that was, um-"

"No need to explain yourself," she interrupted. "You're the prince, you can do what you want."

"I wouldn't put it like that," the boy replied. "If I hadn't found you at that ball, I would've had to marry someone my dad picked for me and if that was gonna happen, well, let's just say that I would've left the country before he could even pick her out."

Pidge laughed at that, noticing out of the corner of her eye that both her stepfather and Allura had retreated from the room. She moved over to the loveseat and settled down on top of it, the prince following her and plopping down by her side.

"So," he said after a moment, looking away as an awkward flush crossed his cheeks. "I believe introductions are long overdue. My name is Lance McClain, the crown prince of Voltron. Allow me to apologize for my behavior and mannerisms from the previous night."

"Please," Pidge said, trying to think of what to say while waiting for Keith to finish changing. "No need for apologies, especially not rehearsed ones."

"Can't be helped, dad told me I had to apologize because, according to him, I probably embarrassed myself and the royal family when we talked. It didn't help that I was in a dress either."

"Well, I don't think you did," Pidge said, remembering how Allura had described what had happened and the way Keith looked on the carriage ride home. "I'm fairly certain you were wonderful." Lance gave her a funny look. His eyes narrowed as he stared hard at her, clearly thinking about something intensely. Finally, he spoke, reaching up to scratch the back of his head, seeming uncomfortable.

"Um, listen, you look… amazing. And you look like the girl I danced with at the ball but… are you, um… are you really her?"

"What makes you ask that?" Pidge prompted. Her eyes flicked over to see Allura standing in the doorway, a wide smile on her face, making gestures towards someone blocked by the wall. Pidge smirked as Lance began to answer.

"It's just… I mean, I thought your eyes were more blueish, but I guess that could've been the light… and you're shorter now, but I suppose you were wearing heels at the dance but all the same, you… you also don't seem like you have the same… aura I guess? Like, you seem more… fake right now than you were before. And you're less awkward and you aren't getting flustered that easily and you seem more talkative."

"Aren't those all bad qualities though? Being awkward and easily embarrassed and quiet?"

"No!" Lance said quickly, throwing his hands up in defense. "No, no, actually, it was really… really cute. And you didn't seem like you were trying to be someone else, you were just… you. And I really liked that. I really like-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Pidge said, standing up as she moved to the doorway and motioned for Allura to pull the other person into the room. "It isn't me you should be saying that to."

Keith was pulled into the room by Allura, the beautiful blue gown swaying around him as he stepped in with a bright red face that stood out even more with the light brown wig on his head. It was similar to the classic Cinderella gown that Keith had described to Hunk and Pidge so often when he used to still read them bedtime stories: the color of pure sapphires, a rich gorgeous blue color decorated by pale sky blue lace etched across the bodice and skirt. A layer of the sapphire blue fabric draped around his waist and down over the skirt edged with silver beading and white ruffles. The bodice was laced up by a sparkling silver thread which disappeared into the puffy sapphire blue sleeves that encompassed the tops of Keith's shoulders and forearms, with a neckline cut low to showcase the gleaming golden key hanging from around his neck. The gown was relatively simple; what seemed to make it positively glow was the wearer.

"You…" Lance breathed, his eyes instantly lighting up in recognition as a wide smile broke onto his face. "You're her!" Without another word, he had dashed over to Keith, throwing his arms around him in a tight hug. Keith stumbled back, caught off guard as Lance whispered "you look beautiful" into his ears. He really didn't understand why he had to crossdress again but Allura and Pidge had insisted, so… Keith's face flushed as he did his best to just accept the compliment.

"Yeah… it's me…" he said hoarsely, hardly able to believe that this was happening.

"I wanted to see you again so badly!" Lance cried, pulling away with an extremely relieved look on his face, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "I've been looking for you for weeks… how could you just leave like that?"

"You never told me you were the prince," Keith answered, to which Lance quickly shot back his own retort.

"Yeah, well, you never told me your name either, so that makes us even." Keith rolled his eyes at this just as Lance started snickering.

"What's so funny?" Keith asked warily, fearing he had made a mistake.

"Nothing, nothing, just… It really is you," Keith blushed as Lance said those words, gazing intensely into his eyes. "So, wanna tell me who you are now?"

"That's-" Keith broke off as a loud bang sounded from the doorway. Four heads turned to stare at the man standing there, an enraged look on his face as Keith turned as white as the lace on his gown. "Father…"

" _What is this_ ," the man hissed, stalking forward, his fists clenched so tight that they seemed like they'd draw blood. " _Just what is going on here_."

"...Sir?" Lance was the first to speak, utterly confused at what was going on. "I, um, I didn't know you had two daughters. Why did you send out the wrong one?"

"I _don't_ have two daughters," Keith's stepfather snapped, reaching over to Keith and, without warning, grabbed the blue fabric of the dress and tore the front open, a loud ripping noise echoing throughout the room. Keith let out a shriek as his hands flew up to cover his bare chest. Lance blushed, going to look away, but stopped when he noticed the obvious lack of something.

"This is my _son_ ," Keith's stepfather said icily. Lance glanced at him before looking down at Keith, who was now hunched on the floor, clutching the torn blue gown with such force that his knuckles were white. As Allura and Pidge rushed over to his side, Keith felt like he was going to cry. He had planned to tell Lance the truth carefully and slowly, but this… this was downright humiliating. If there had been any possible way that he was going to get his happy ending, surely all hopes were dashed now.

"You…" Lance uttered in confusion, his voice gentle as he knelt down next to Keith. "Why would you lie to me like that?"

"Because…" Keith murmured, his voice breaking as he tried to figure out what he should say. A part of him wanted to deny everything, say he had been joking the whole time and that he had never cared about this anyway, that it was all a game. But he just couldn't do that, much as he wanted to save face. Shiro was right; he couldn't keep running. He didn't _want_ to. And so he decided to just do what he should've done that night: tell the truth. Keith reached up and, without a word, pulled the light brown wig off to reveal his ebony black hair, falling down to his shoulders in uneven clumps from the wig. Looking up to meet Lance's gaze, now wide with recognition, he swallowed thickly as he murmured "Because I'm in love with you."

Lance was frozen in shock. This person… he knew them. This boy was _Keith_ , the very same Keith he had spent the summer with, the one who had helped him out with the apples and had taught him so many things during the months Lance was here. This was the boy that Lance had thought might have been his first love in the first place before Lance had had to go back to the palace. He had feared he'd lost his connection with Keith forever, yet here he was, and Lance couldn't be happier.

"No wonder it felt like I knew you at the ball," Lance whispered before swiftly moving his hands up to Keith's cheeks as he pulled the black-haired boy towards him and pressed a swift kiss to the shorter boy's cheek. Keith's eyes widened in shock as his hand flew to his cheek.

"You… that…" He stammered as red crept up his cheeks. As he processed what had just happened, he couldn't help his jaw from dropping. "Does this mean…?" He couldn't even finish the question, but it wasn't really needed at this point.

Lance smiled, pulling him into a tight hug and whispering in his ear "Yeah, I think it does," before pulling away. Keith let out a shuddering gasp of air that he hadn't known he had been holding as he tried to take what was happening. And then an icy voice from the far side of the room was snapping him out of it.

" _Disgusting,_ " he heard, and it sounded as loud as if someone was yelling it in his direction. Turning to look, Keith barely had time to think before his stepfather was right in front of him, yanking him away from Lance as harshly as possible. "To think not only my son, but the goddamn _prince_ is a disgusting faggot! It can't be true; this must be your fault, a royal would never go for someone like you, someone less than human. You're not fit to lick his boots, let alone be with him!"

Keith could feel himself falling again, even as Lance started yelling, and suddenly the whole room was a blur as he tried to keep his balance and not go careening into that pit of self-loathing his stepfather had dug for him years ago. _He's right,_ a part of him thought. _You aren't worth it. Lance deserves better._ But there was the other part that was insisting otherwise, saying that Lance loved him and that was what mattered. How Keith desperately wanted to only listen to that part. But of course, all he could hear was how worthless he was and how he just wasn't worth anything more than a speck of dust. And yet again, he hated himself.

"I shouldn't be surprised," his father was saying, his grip on Keith's arm tightening as Lance stalked over to them and was that fury on his face? Keith just wasn't sure anymore. "You're nothing more than a whore," his stepfather continued, and the words seemed to echo around numbly in his head. But that wasn't enough, and the man added just one last thing. "Just like your mother."

It took a few seconds for those words to sink in, but when they did, Keith was seeing red. His free hand shot up to grab his stepfather's wrist, and the man looked surprised at the boy's sudden movement. "You can say what you like about me," Keith hissed quietly, glaring as harshly as he could at his stepfather. "After all, that's all you've ever done. Who knows, maybe you're right. Maybe I am nothing more than a whore, maybe I'm really not worth more than a speck of dust, and maybe I did seduce the prince. And he does deserve better. So you can say whatever you like about me because you're right." Keith could feel tears prickling at the back of his eyes at his own words of self-deprecation, even though he was dimly aware of Lance and his siblings protesting in the background, but that wasn't important right now, and his grip tightened as he said "But don't you ever, _ever_ call my mother a whore."

His stepfather was silent for a few moments, clearly realizing he had struck a nerve with the boy, but quickly choosing to focus on the fact that Keith had talked back to him. "I'll say what I like about your mother because she was _my_ whore. She was _lucky_ , marrying into wealth even with a bratty bastard child like you; I _saved_ you two from poverty, I can call her what I like! A whore is a whore and that's all she ever was. Now don't you _ever_ talk to me like that again!" The man all but shrieked in rage, bringing his hand down as hard as he could on Keith's cheek. The slap rang out loudly through the room, and it must've hurt, but Keith didn't even try to flinch away from it. He took the blow head on and didn't even falter. The second his father's hand pulled back, the black-haired boy had clenched his fist and swung with as much force as possible into his father's jaw. There was an awful clacking sound as the man's teeth slammed together before he hit the floor with a heavy thud. Silence filled the room for the longest time, save for the heavy breaths escaping Keith's open mouth, who was desperately trying to hold back tears. He didn't even understand why he felt like crying, he just knew he didn't want to give that man the satisfaction.

And then his stepfather sprang up on unsteady feet and lurched towards Keith and that's when Lance quickly stepped in front of him and planted his foot squarely between the man's ribs and kicked him backwards. As he started to cough, Lance glowered down at him, his eyes holding the kind of cold ice that only royalty can pull off. "Maybe you've forgotten, but you're in the presence of royalty. This is the scene I'm welcomed to, just as I've found my bride? What a pathetic display of hospitality."

The man was still for a few moments, almost as if he wasn't understanding what was going on. "But-" he stammered, realizing the gravity of his situation. "But you can't possibly be interested in something like this your highness, it's just-"

"Disgusting?" Lance said for him, taking a step back to stand next to Keith and making an obvious show of placing his arm around the shorter boy's slim waist. "Hate to break it to you, but we don't see eye to eye on that."

"But he's-"

"He's wonderful." Keith turned to Lance in shock, and the prince flashed him a brilliant smile before shifting his gaze back to the withering glare on the groveling man at his feet. Keith had to hand it to him, for all his faults, Lance certainly was royalty. "He's everything I could ever want and more," Lance continued. "If anything, _I'm_ the one who seduced _him_ , what with my dashing good looks and my charming personality." He could feel Keith quiver slightly, and hoped that it was from laughter. "Keith is perfect. The only disgusting thing here is you."

The man was silent on the ground, not daring to say anything else. He was practically seething but not about to make his situation any worse. It was clear he had lost.

Taking the silence as a sign to continue, Lance took a step forward and hoisted the man up by the scruff of his neck before shoving him as hard as he could towards the door. "Leave," he commanded, pausing for a few seconds before adding "And if I ever, _ever_ catch you within 5 miles of Keith - or the rest of your family, for that matter - you're going to wish a dungeon is all you'll get."

Their father needed no further prompting. "Good riddance I say!" He barked as he stormed out the door, determined to keep the last of his dignity and blind to the fact that he had already lost it. "I never wanted those stupid brats anyway, or this godforsaken family! You'll all rue this day!"

For the longest time, no one moved, everyone standing with bated breath as if the man was going to come back, perhaps with a weapon or his workers or _something_ , but nothing happened. And when that became more than just apparent, Keith could feel the adrenaline finally leaving him and felt the ground under his knees before he had really processed the fact that his legs had dropped from under him.

"Keith!" Lance cried, kneeling next to him in concern. Shiro took a step forward but stopped when Allura placed her hand on his shoulder. Silently shaking her head, she and Pidge ushered the other two out to give Keith and Lance a bit of private time, now that things were really over. Their disappearance went unnoticed as Lance asked "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No more than normal," Keith answered, a shaky smile on his face. "Did you see the look on his face when I punched him? Almost makes all those years of abuse worth it."

Lance frowned. "Was it really that long?" he asked quietly, and Keith realized he must've made things awkward and mentally cursed himself.

"No, it wasn't that bad, honest." Keith was saying the words but they felt empty and weightless and just like the blatant lie that they were, but now it was over and his stepfather was gone and this would never happen again and he was finally free and even though he was trying to comfort Lance, it all seemed a little too surreal, a little too much, and he couldn't stop himself from letting out a choking sob before clamping his mouth shut tightly as he pressed his palms into his eyes to hold back from letting everything go.

"It's okay," Lance murmured as he wrapped his arms around Keith and pulled the quivering boy closer to him. "You've been through a lot. It's okay to cry."

"That's not it," Keith muttered through his hands. "It's not that, really, it's just-" he couldn't find the words so he finally just whispered "I can't believe this is happening."

"Best believe it," Lance said wryly, reaching down to lift Keith's face out of his hands and wipe the small drops off his dark eyelashes. There was a moment where neither of them breathed and then Lance's lips were on Keith's and Keith couldn't even breathe and time seemed to slow down until it was frozen altogether. It took way too long for his eyes to slowly flutter shut as he wrapped his arms around Lance's neck and melted into the kiss. Lance's lips were surprisingly soft, pressing against Keith's as they slowly forced his mouth open, just enough for Lance's tongue to sneak it's way inside. The kiss was warm and gentle, and as Lance's tongue began to etch out every little corner of Keith's mouth, the ebony-haired teen could feel shivers shooting down his spine. And then all too soon it was over and Lance had pulled away, too many emotions in his eyes to count.

Keith couldn't help his jaw from dropping, nearly in shock over what had just happened, and Lance laughed at this. "Close your jaw, babe," he said. "Wouldn't want your pretty face to freeze like that." When Keith didn't move, Lance sighed quietly, pulling him closer so he could rest his chin on top of Keith's soft ebony hair, a gentle smile on his face. "Is it really that hard for you to believe that I love you?"

"...It's just been a long time, that's all," Keith said finally, his voice hoarse and so shaky that Lance was worried he might've started crying again but when he looked, the smile Keith was giving him seemed genuine. And it was beautiful.

"Well then," Lance said, reaching into his pocket to lift out the small heart-shaped locket. "Shall we see if it fits?" Keith was still for a moment, almost not ready to see what was inside to lock. He had never looked before, but if there was ever someone he wanted to be there by his side when he finally did look, it was Lance. He nodded, taking the golden key from where it hung on around his neck and, in complete and utter silence, slid the small key into the heart-shaped lock. A tiny click resounded throughout the room as it snapped open to reveal a picture nestled in one side of the locket. Keith's breath caught in his throat when he saw it.

"Mother," he whispered. He had barely been managing to keep his tears at bay, but this was too much and he finally started to cry as his eyes landed on the picture inside the locket. There, on the left side of the locket, was a photo of a beautiful black-haired woman, a wide smile on her face, frozen in time as she held a little boy laughing in her arms, the two of them surrounded by a beautiful garden of green roses. Keith couldn't remember a time when he had looked so happy and couldn't help but clench his fist around the locket as tightly as possible, as if the memory held inside it could slip out at any second.

Lance pulled him into yet another, pressing gentle kisses to his cheeks as he cried and reassuring him that it was okay to be overwhelmed and that everything was going to be okay, and really that only made him cry harder but Lance was trying his best and Keith didn't really want him to stop anyway, so he didn't say anything and they just sat there for what seemed like forever (but was probably only like 5 minutes maximum).

"This is so embarrassing," the black-haired boy said finally, reaching up to rub at his eyes as he lifted his head to smile awkwardly at Lance. "This is such a weird feeling. It's happy and sad and relieved and anxious all at once and I just… I guess I just wish she was here to see this."

"See what?" Lance asked tentatively, hoping he wasn't overstepping his bounds.

"...Mother always wanted me to be happy," Keith said finally. "Even when she was on her deathbed, that's all she ever wished for. And it hurt when she passed because, at the time, I thought I'd never be able to fulfill her wish but… but now it's different. And I assume she'd want to be here to see me right now because this is the happiest I've ever felt in my entire life."

"...I don't feel like I'm worthy to receive those kinds of feelings," Lance murmured quietly. "And I hope you know how happy I am to hear you say something like that. To know that I make you happy, it's- it's a dream come true. As I thought, I really do love you Keith."

Keith didn't say anything but leaned up to kiss Lance, initiating it for the first time as their lips touched briefly in a gentle and chaste kiss.

"Now then," Lance said, grinning as he pulled Keith to his feet. It was only a few seconds that they stood there together before Lance knelt down again, this time on one knee, as he took Keith's hand in his own and pulled it over to meet his lips. "I can't forget the most important thing. Keith, I think I've loved you since we met this summer. I think I fell in love the day we met because every day after that seemed even brighter than the last because you were in it. I've loved you for months now and I don't think I'll ever stop loving you, so would you do me the greatest honor someone could do? Would you marry me?"

Keith's face was a mask of emotions, almost blank with expression, and for a moment Lance feared rejection, but then Keith's lips were meeting his and the black-haired boy pulled away and it was like all the dark clouds in Lance's life had disappeared because the smile on Keith's face was as bright as the sun.

"Of course I will, idiot."

…

So, as it turns out, you _don't_ need magic to give you a happily ever after. There were no pumpkin carriages for me, no mice-turned-horses, no fairy godmothers (unless you count Allura, but she's technically a human, so does that _really_ count?) and most importantly, _no magic_. There were no glass slippers that fit perfectly and no rushed marriage. Lance and I had known each other for well over a year by the time we finally got around to a wedding. So this was a completely realistic fairytale. Well, maybe not so realistic, but still.

Anyways, I'm sure you know what happened after that: marriage, honeymoon, royal crowning, all that stuff, so I won't bore you with the details. Point is, everything worked out in the end, just like mother always said it would. She was right all along; I never should've doubted her- not that you could blame me, right? My life was a real shit show for a while, but just when I thought I was stuck in that hell forever, my very own prince showed up and my life turned around as much as Cinderella's did. But it happened through much more realistic means: friendship, hard work, a bit of crossdressing, and of course, a handsome prince.

And before you get any ideas, the two of us lived

Happily Ever After.


End file.
